Voyage unto Paradise
by Cruxses
Summary: An ominous trek to the far reaches of space takes the two survivors of the Prometheus to a whole new dark world inhabited but the unknown. Elisabeth Shaw and David 8 will soon discover the true meaning of survive. What will happen when Elisabeth "Meets their Makers?" Also, those who read something similar to this, you have, I just a new pen name and its rewritten.
1. The Origin of Answers

_"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."-Sandwalk_

An icy breath is emitted into the dry atmosphere. Exhausted and in a state of shock, Elizabeth stands at the bow of the ship where the telescope shaped machine is located. The floor beneath her is ribbed cold metal. Disgusting.

It's been a few days since the tragedy on Lv-223, and the repair on David is complete.

"Can you make out the coordinates to the planet David?" Elizabeth asks.

"It's quite a distance, are you sure this choice is worth taking the risk?", David explains. He takes a look at Elizabeth- she is distressed and confused- before gently pressing the bulbous buttons.

"I'm sure," she says, "we have enough food and water to get us to wherever we're going and back to Earth." She shoots David a neutral smile.

"Our emotions can't get the best of us. Well... not mine at least, since I'm a synthetic. But you're human."

"The only emotion I'm having is the regret of repairing you. I was discreet enough to actually trust you. You're one lucky robot."

"Lucky, no, diplomatic, yes."

"Diplomatic? It was a sensible decision for me to repair you, even though I may not trust you much. It's better here on the ship than dying on that planet knowing we accomplished nothing." Steadying herself against a wall, Elizabeth examines the area for a bit. "Confess David, was it worth it?" She glares at him. Her voice pleads, but her tone is angry.

"I have already told you Miss Shaw, I was forced against my will by Weyland himself to retrieve the bio weapon and secure it, that was my purpose. But no, it wasn't worth the trouble I put the crew of the Prometheus through."

"A dream was lost, we found exactly what we wanted and it was washed away by a simple mistake! Is this what Weyland wanted? We were expendable!"

"We will make things right Elizabeth, it just takes time." He lays his hand upon Elizabeth's shoulder. "Now, since we're going to be on this ship for a while, it's time we figure out what their technology is."

Following David to the chair, Elizabeth places herself in it and listens to him while watching the movements he makes.

"Here, these oval shaped bulbs... are switches and buttons, fused in one to transfer information to the grid. The switches are like those in the ships on Earth but triggered by telepathic signals from the brain and into the fingers." He shows her a few sequences of presses, and then they can look at the vast space outside, see what the ship sees. It hurtles past beautiful planets engulfed in their unique atmospheres.

Over the next weeks of travel, David teaches Elizabeth numerous aspects to the Engineer culture and how they spoke, how they worked the technology, and most of all ... about their emotional responses.

"I think it's time we searched the ship, David."

David nods in agreement, and stops toying with the holographic space grid that filled the chasm of the room. Together the two of them walk forward to begin their investigation.

"Miss Shaw," David asks, "do you understand why the Engineers tried to kill us?"

"I have this feeling, it was what you said to the Engineer that drove it hostile." She stops abruptly. "What did you say to it?"

"Since it's only you and me on this ship, honesty is the best policy. I've learned that from your kind a long time ago before Weyland took control. I said, in precise words, this man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life. Is that satisfactory enough?" He crosses his arms. His voice is elegant, confident. Truthful.

"It doesn't explain the reaction we got, it attacked with such aggression. Was there anything else?"

"Yes, there was something; but I don't think you're ready to hear it." They keep walking in silence until they reach another part of the ship.

Elizabeth grasps onto Davids shoulder and glares with curiosity and anxiety as they open a similar door like the one they had seen on the other ship.

"Before we enter this room," she says, "you need to explain everything to me, what was their purpose and why did they want to kill us?"

David glances down upon Elizabeth, then walks up to the shapes and symbols, slides his fingers down them and presses the bulbs, triggering the door. It opens. Elizabeth and David walk in the room together and stare with apprehension.


	2. Year 2100

Elizabeth and David Walk into the room. They stop in the middle arc, where on the floor there are five hyper pods. There isn't any sign of life besides Elizabeth and the suspicious robot standing to her right.

"No life..." David says.

Elizabeth looks inside the pods one at a time. "One survivor; that Engineer survived whatever happened two thousand years ago."

"In all honesty, I believe it wasn't a bomb, but one of them must have released something."

"You mean, one of them betrayed the others?", Elizabeth asks, leaning against a pod.

"Indeed, I discovered a dated log while learning how to turn on the telescopic device." He holds out some kind of square chip and turns it on.

"Magnificent..." Elizabeth whispers while staring at the small apparatus.

While the device glows, a flat grid protrudes from it. It suddenly projects a figure above that seems to take the form of an Engineer. It starts to speak but only David can understand it.

"What's it saying?!" Elizabeth shouts.

"It keeps breaking up into bits from the damage but the figure is saying, -'it's preserved and can't be withdrawn.' 'Once extracted from the vial, the process begins.-"

The log shuts off and David places it back into his right pocket.

"Process, what process..." Elizabeth says.

You had this the whole time and didn't share it sooner, stop hiding things from me David!"

"I just showed you didn't I?" He walks away, showing no emotion. Elizabeth follows with agitation, They leave the room.

"Wait, this is wrong... If that Engineer set off some kind of bio hazard within that single ship, wouldn't that mean the one you spoke to was the transgressor?"

David lifts a smirk. "You're catching on Elizabeth. But that wouldn't make sense either. Just because that single Engineer set off the bio hazard, doesn't mean it was him who we saw in that pod."

He glances at her. "Do you know what this ship is Miss Shaw?"

"Yes, a ship that is carrying the bio hazard that killed off the Engineers working on the planet."

"You're correct, Miss Shaw, but would your Engineers be truly happy if we arrive in a flying weapon mean't for pure destruction? They won't be too fond of us, they might just kill us when we arrive."

They enter the middle quadrant of the ship with the telescope, David places himself into the seat and locks onto their destination.

David explains to Elizabeth how to opperate the hyper pods, doing so, Elizabeth says a few words of appreciation and then closes the pod.

_**Year of lift off from Lv-223... 2094**_

_**Year of destination 5 years later... 2100**_

It took Elizabeth approx 5 years in hyper sleep to reach the planet, though 5 years of examination of the ship and gained knowledge for David.

Waking Elizabeth, David carries her to the chair so she could see the planet through the scope, she whipers.. "Is that it...?"

"We made it, Miss Shaw, now.. prepare to meet your makers."

David pulls a lever which projects the planet in the middle of the room with holographic light. The blue horizon upon the planet was a moment to never let go of. David then blows into a complex flute that makes the blue light vanish, showing the true color of the planet. Its dark brown shade glowed with a slight orange tint around the globe, swirls of black mixed within it as well.

"In fifteen minutes; the ship will enter the planet's atmosphere, and we will be able to meet our originating roots of life." David calmly speaks and commences the ship to the planet.


	3. Mission Is a Go

A large building looms above the ground, the Sun's rays beaming down upon its mirror-like windows. Drawing near, a man dressed in a suit makes his way into the front doorway, while many others follow after him. Above the door where they enter, an orange glowing logo of the company's name hovers. Weyland-Yutani.

Standing before a long rectangular table with several Weyland employees- agents, mediators, analysts, interrogators and scientists- the Corporation Marshal begins his speech.

"We received a transmission in 2093 that the spacecraft Prometheus, worth over three trillion dollars, had reached the unexplored LV quadrant. Things went awry after an alleged infection occurred on board, reported by Meredith Vickers. The files and information about the mission and crew were kept secret, and since there hasn't been any subsequent contact after that transmission, there has been no doubt that the crew is in fact, dead."

He waits for one moment before continuing. "Until now."

"Yes, the Prometheus went offline in 2093, but knowing that the ship had hyper pods on board, couldn't the whole crew be in hyper sleep?", the Analyst says.

"The ship went offline five years ago. Wouldn't David 8 have tried to contact us after the infection, or before they left? The crew should have been here by now."

"Something could have happened to David," one of the agents says.

"You're all missing the point, the ship went offline five years ago," the Marshall says. "After Meredith Vickers told us there was a possible contagion on board, the crew could have been infected and died either on the planet or in the ship. So many possibilities. Instead of wasting our time sending transmissions and not getting any answers, we need to do extensive actions." He slams his fist on the table.

The Director intervenes. "If It's been five years since the last contact from the craft, the company will issue an initial investigation. The case will begin in the next few days."

"So then what is our first course of action? What do we do that's beneficial to the company to save money, by retrieving the Prometheus? By now, knowing of a possible infection and/or the death of an entire crew, it's better off that they are expendable at this point."

"Since no further contact happened after the infection, a mission to retrieve the crew of the Prometheus is our only option. It would be beneficial that we prepare a crew of highly skilled private mercenaries who know what they're doing. Due to the possible threat of a contagion I want medic kits ready when they reach Zeta 2 Reticuli. Upon return, any surviving members of the crew will be questioned. The chance of discovering complex extraterrestrial life is minimal, Meredith Vickers made it clear that the beings Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Halloway had discovered on Lv-223 were dead for over 2000 years. "

"I hereby agree to the commands of the Director, prepare the star craft USCSS Revenant. I will make sure that this crew makes it home safe in four years." Ending the session, the Marshal quickly tugs on the Directors sleeve getting her attention.

"Who might you be?" The Marshal asks.

"My name is Director Lana, I'll be in charge of this investigation along with Ms. Yutani."

"I see, and who do you have beside you hiding a cute little face like that?"

"This would be my daughter, Ellen. She's eight years old." Lana nudges her to the right, the little girl with curly brown hair smiles.

"Well, it'll be nice working with you on the case."

"Oh, I'm not working with you on the case, I was just informing the company, orders from Ms. Yutani herself. This voyage isn't a game. I want this to go smoothly, or this company will crumble. Also, today's take your child to work day so.. please excuse me, I must be going now." The two shake hands. While turning to leave, little Ellen waves goodbye.

"Alright, mission is a go!" The Marshal commands.

Chaos filled the building, agents retrieving every detail about the incident on LV-223, while a specialized crew was gathered. Now that the company has not been getting further orders from Weyland, Ms. Yutani was the next in command, along with her assistant, Director Lana C. Ripley.


	4. Accept our Arrival

It felt like hours of anticipation. What was this place going to look like? How will these engineers react? Will it be deserted like Lv-223? No, she couldn't afford to think like that, she had too many questions in mind to countenance the possibility that they would remain unanswered.

"How's it coming along David?"

"Good, the tetra signals coming from the planet are indicating a landing pad for us," David says.

Elizabeth points at the star map. "Look, there seems to be some kind of structure in the distance."

"From the star map projector reading, those are several triangular pyramids. It must be where all the ships are coordinated to their designated stations."

"Any signs of life here?" Elizabeth says.

"Yes, Miss Shaw."

"This place is magnificent, it truly is paradise," Elizabeth whispers.

"We don't know what we're in for Elizabeth, so I suggest caution."

She passes him by. "I can't, I'm too anxious. Let's get this over with, I want to meet them."

"Once we get to the end of the ship's airlock seal, we need to take it step by step," he says and hugs Elizabeth, then places his hands on both her shoulders. "This could be the last day of our lives."

They exit the ship, and a calm wind brushes against them as they take their first steps onto the planet's soil. Wearing the suits before leaving the ship was the safe thing to do, just in case the planet's atmosphere was unbreathable. But soon, a ping from inside the suits announces that it was similar to Earth's, so Elizabeth takes off her helmet and inhales the nice fresh air. David does as well, even though he doesn't need to breathe.

Looking around, they see horseshoe ships lay around them in an orderly fashion. Something catches Elizabeth's eye, a distant, smooth metallic structure protruding from the ground, similar to pyramids on Earth. A silver blue shine glazed it. Like flies towards a light, Elizabeth and David start for it.

Above them are the skies, dark gray with lightning beaming down here and there; David assumed a storm was coming but it never did. Continuing their walk to the giant metallic structure, they pass by unusually shaped mountains, but the rush of excitement flowed through Elizabeth, an anxious and curious human whose questions must be answered.

"I wonder if they'll react the same way as the one you awakened in that sleeping chamber?"

"The possibilities are diversifying, but stay sharp just in case they are hostile," he says.

"Stay sharp? How likely do you think it is that they'll try and kill us upon contact?"

"I really cannot say. It's not too late to turn back."

"No. After all that journey we must continue. I need to know."

"So be it." The two move on their way and reach the structure soon enough.

"David, before you open the door, I'd ... I'd like to say thank you for bringing us here. ... It's been a hell of a ride."

"Miss Shaw, the ride is not over." Sliding his fingers down the creases in the wall, the door slides open, and something spots them.

Cloaked in a gown made of light brown fabric, an elder engineer stares in astonishment.

"What do we do? Think of something..." Elizabeth quietly says.

"Just make no sudden or threatening moves, they need to analyze us. Expect the unexpected, that's all I got," he replies.

Standing in the doorway of the structure, the two say nothing, and do nothing, except wait for the Engineer's reaction. The being walks towards them, slow and unsure of what they are. He stops a few feet in front of them and speaks.

"What's he saying David?" Elizabeth asks, staring into the black eyes of the elder being.

"He's aware of our presence, but doesn't understand why we're here."

"Tell him we're not here to cause harm, but to make amends." Elizabeth whispers.

David replies in the Engineer's language. The expression on the elder's face was clear- he agreed, and nodded his head.

Two younger Engineers suddenly appeared. They seemed confused and angry at the sight of Elizabeth and David, but the elder commanded them away. He then looked at Elizabeth and gestured for her to come closer, not fear him. He gently held her hand and the three of them walked on.

"David, they seem nice, well, not like what we saw. Could you ask him where he's taking us?" Elizabeth says.

"Now's not the best time. He seems interested in you, as in your appearance and the way you responded to his actions."

"It's beautiful here, the lights are so iridescent and calm," Elizabeth says.

David asks something, then the three come to a halt, the elder looks at David staring deeply with black eyes for a moment and replies. The deep echoing surge of thought behind the elders answer is chilling. Elizabeth can't understand a word but she keeps her calm, non-threatening demeanor, since he was the one holding her hand, and not letting go.

"What did you ask him, his hand tensed up."

"I asked him, are you familiar with our planet, Earth." He pauses "That was all."

"Okay, no more for now."

After the long walk, the elder directs them to a room. Following them in, he speaks and a blue scattered light glows around them. Other Engineers walk in and sit in a row of odd shaped chairs, unlike any they had seen on Earth. They begin to whisper in their deep voices. A few momentarily glance at the two with disgust.

The elder orders the crowd of Engineers, as well as Elizabeth and David, to sit.

"This doesn't look good," Elizabeth whispers to David.

"I've been scanning their gestures and the way they talk. It seems they're about to discuss our arrival. Maybe I can tell them why we're truly here."

"If this is your only chance, do it."

Standing up, abruptly intervening and gathering the attention from the elder to himself, David begins.

"We are from planet Earth. My name is David eight and I am a synthetic android constructed by a man named Peter Weyland, to my right is my companion, her name is Elizabeth M. Shaw, and she is Human. In the year 2089, we left Earth on a ship named the Prometheus. Our reason for departure was a mission she proposed. She had found messages all across the globe, which seemed to be invitations to find the makers of human kind. Upon research on a planet we named LV-223, on which we landed six weeks ago, we discovered numerous pyramids that contained vials your race might had planned to use as weapons to wipe us out. If you are her creators, what did her kind do wrong to provoke you to such destructive action? We need to know, that is why we're here."

The Engineers regard them with angered expressions and worry.

"Elizabeth, something is not right."

"What do you mean, you told them everything, didn't you?" Elizabeth says, while holding his wrist.

"Yes, I did, but I told them about the vials too."

"Are they angry?"

"I'm not sure." David scans the group of beings by the way they glared back with those black alien eyes. One began to respond and David knew that they were in a much bigger mess than ever before.


	5. Questions Answers

Space Vessel: Valhalla

Day: May 10th

Year: 2094

She was sleeping in peace, when the sun arose from the right, shining through her window and onto her face. The warmth wakes her and her pearly eyes stare through the window to see a glowing orb- Earth- rotating slowly in its natural beauty.

A faint call comes from the outside of the room. "Ellen ... "

"Honey, are you awake yet?" Opening the door, Lana walks in and sits beside the child.

"Just a few minutes ago mommy," Ellen says sleepily.

"Well, I got to go to work now, there's fresh pancakes on the table and some orange juice. Have a good day at school, love you." Kissing Ellen on her forehead, Lana takes off to work.

"Love you," Ellen whispers.

Ellen gets out of bed and finds something to wear. She chooses a pink shirt with a pair of jeans, then heads for the table where her steaming breakfast fills the air with a heavenly scent.

"Good morning Ellen," a woman's voice echoes through the room.

"Morning Miss Yutani," Ellen responds.

"Your lessons will be held on deck three today, be there in twenty minutes."

The voice disappears and Ellen finishes breakfast, then grabs her backpack and leaves.

Along the way through the long halls filled with dull grey colors, Ellen meets up with her friends and soon enters the classroom. That is where Ellen spends most her time while her mother works.

"Good morning class, grab your core book and turn to page four hundred and two, we will be learning about piloting star ships, lets begin shall we?" The teacher shoots Ellen a wink. This was Ellen's favorite subject.

Engineer Planet: 2094

Time feels like it has stopped. Elizabeth begins to worry, and all around her the Engineers are staring with intensity. The elder watches David's every movement. There is nothing left for them to do but fear the unknown.

"Elizabeth ... we should leave," David says, then takes her hand as he lunges for the door.

Sensing distrust, an Engineer charges for them and grabs David, throwing him back and away from Elizabeth. He slams into a wall, but is not harmed for now.

"David! Help!"

The Engineer grips onto Elizabeth's suit and lifts her two feet off the ground, staring into her eyes with his deathly gaze. Whatever he sees there- innocence perhaps- makes him stop his assault. He drops her and grunts with confusion.

"Why? why do want to kill us! Were we all that bad for you to end our existence?" Elizabeth shouts.

"Calm down Elizabeth. He spared your life, we were lucky the others didn't attack."

Two Engineers pick up David and hold his arms. Elizabeth slides into a corner and shivers with fear.

"I'll try to converse with them," David says, "try and make them understand we're harmless."

"No.. need," a voice whispers.

"Did that Engineer just speak our language?" Elizabeth asks.

"I believe he did, though, their language is just an older form of ours." David says.

The room falls into a tense silence as the Elder Engineer lays his eyes upon Elizabeth.

"Don't be afraid, we mean no harm," the elder speaks.

"Tell us, tell us everything." Elizabeth says.

"Everything will be explained."

"It seems there's a device in the room allowing them to speak our language, but only this room," David says as he stands up straight.

"Yes, we created you, and many others. In the beginning, billions of years ago, we achieved something remarkable. We created the geno morphon, artificial life that took physical form and later became organic. In order to sustain this chain of events, we had to plant this morphon on planets where life could thrive. There were some who believed that by sacrificing themselves using the geno morphon, they could create new beings like us. It was we who drew the images in the caves all around the globe so that one day, when your kind eventually matured and thrived, you could determine your purpose. Which now brings us here, and to an issue that must be resolved."

"We were just an experiment?!"

There is sadness in the Elder's voice as he speaks. "I'm afraid so."

The other Engineers, backing off, walk to their seats and listen.

"The paintings, the vials, the tomb, what does it all mean?" Elizabeth asks.

"How did you get a hold of the alembics?"

"We discovered a planet thought to have contained life," Elizabeth explains, "but everything went wrong, and the crew was killed off. One of your kind attacked us and the ship he tried escaping with contained your vials. His directive was to take off to Earth, and kill everything. But our captain stopped the ship by sacrificing himself to take it down."

In a worried tone, the Elder speaks. "Solitude, two thousand years ago."

"What are you going to do with us?" David says.

"We haven't decided yet. Knowing that you contaminated our chapel, we now have to clean up the mess. You came to us, and we listened. Are you disappointed?" The Elder Engineer says with suspicion.

"We came here for answers, not to have humanity sentenced to death! Why are you doing this to us? What did we do wrong?"

The Elder turns and signals one of the Engineers from his right. The Engineer grabs Elizabeth, who's now shouting and screaming for help, along with David who seems emotionless. The Engineer takes them out of the room and somewhere else. A prison.

"Commence transport," the elder says.

"What's the objective?" a tall masculine figure says.

"Investigate Solitude. If the infection has spread again, make sure to leave soon as possible. We will not bring the geno here, or many of our people will die, just like all those years ago." Handing the Engineer a circular object, he dismisses him.

Elizabeth and David are thrown into another dark room, except this one had some sort of ion laser bars to lock them in. David analyzes the room. It seems perfectly smooth, and has only one way in and one way out.

"It's over, I failed," Elizabeth whispers.

"No tears Elizabeth, be strong. They don't understand us, just like we don't understand them. You got your answers." David says, trying to comfort her.

"They made us because they could. Not because they wanted to see life, but to experiment with it. All humanity is, is just another experiment, and now they want us gone because we couldn't get to the end of our maze, or couldn't find the needle in the haystack."

"Well, I found the needle." David says.

"Really David? Not now." Elizabeth grunts with anger.

"You're my needle Elizabeth, you have more courage than any human being I've ever met. You're the reason we found our so called gods, but hey, what a disappointment they turned out to be. Better luck next time, right?" David says with a growing smirk.

"For once, you make my day."

"I wonder what they'll find when they go looking on the planet?" David thinks aloud.

"At least we know one thing David, we're going to be here a while."

Exiting the giant monolith pyramid, the Engineer makes haste to the circle of ships, giants they were owning the area. Once inside, he takes off quickly, with a crackle in the sky, the lone Engineer pilot takes off.


	6. New Discoveries

_**A/N: Here it is everyone, the big chapter some of you have been waiting for. Hope you like it!**_

The Engineer pilot disengages the warp drive and descends on the planet known as Solitude. His crescent-shaped ship moves through dark clouds lit only by mysterious wispy lights, and lands near one of several pyramids.

Inside the control chamber, the pilot steps down from his chair. Since the planet may contain biological hazards, he takes a vaccine tube and places it on his helmet. He programs the ship to take off on its own in a few hours, then exits to the world outside by way of an elevator. He begins his course, which would take him, at most, a mile away from the ship. Escaping something hostile should not be difficult for one so strong as him, but he would rather not risk leaving the ship stranded on the planet in case something bad were to happen, nonetheless.

He gazes on the pyramid's entrance. It has been six weeks since the Earthling crew had been there. Six weeks since most had perished. Just two survivors, two Earthlings- though, the pilot couldn't quite place what looked odd about one of them.

Since the ship will not wait too long, he wastes no time to find and fix what the Earthlings polluted. Once inside the pyramid, he examines the halls for traces of dangerous carbon dioxide levels. And if need be, his black space suit can provide more than comfort and protection from the elements. It is a weapon as well.

Searching the tunnel, he curiously stares above at the markings on the wall. He can smell that someone had entered the chapel, so he slides his large fingers through the lines and shapes, opening the large vertical door.

The chapel was dark and completely contaminated, the vials oozing, sudden shrieks in the darkness. All the pilot can do is stay safe and keep to his mission. A mission to continue the eradication of humanity.

The pilot stands by the door for a while so he can figure out how to clean up all the alembics containing the geno-morphon streams. Bending down, he slips something out from his right leg pocket- a tube, something to test the enzymes with, to see if anything in the room had been modified. Turning the tube upside down, he scoops up a good amount to trace the isolated components. After the scan, it shows there was some modification- in the chapel, that the atmosphere and radiation levels had changed.

Becoming anxious, he begins the cleansing cycle. He takes a device latched onto his thigh, and sticks it into the rich soil flooring. Its spherical form plants tendrils into the ground, then starts to slowly consume the morphon. Though, he feels, there is something waiting, something lurking in the darkness, watching him, waiting for the right moment.

After draining most of the black streams, the pilot picks up the spherical device and shuts it off, then places it back on his right thigh. He then walks up to a shrine which shows a graven image of an other worldly being. The giant takes a break for a minute to think; he hesitates to open the concealed chamber.

Placing his big hands on the green stone, he speaks three works- Mortok, Aguul, Shintah. His speech builds a cadence as he utters the prayer and turns the stone ninety degrees, soon opening the sculpted wall. Sensing no threat so far, he enters the slanted tunnel. He noticeses something off, something unusual about the streams. Still staring, he takes a closer look. A few minutes pass, when suddenly little ripples in the stream begin to vibrate and a small silky white head peaks out. Startling him, the worm-like creature vanishes back into the stream, following the current flow. Uninterested in this creature, he moves on.

Down the tunnel he goes, to a mysterious room that lies deep below the pyramid, to a place where life should not exist, a place the Earthlings should be grateful they never discovered.

Once at the room, the Pilot stands completely still and stares with caution. Knowing that this part of the investigation was a side mission given by the elder Engineer, he had to do it quickly. Before him are two small pillars with one bulb on each. He presses them at the same time and another door opens. In the darkness, he sees that the creature is still in stasis, lying there in peaceful sleep. Almost frozen, no movement and heavy breaths emitting from its large mouth. His presence triggers it and the sleeping creature suddenly awakens.

Chained up by every limb, it slowly stands up and shrieks loudly, then hisses at the Engineer. He backs up and bows before it as the large black serpentine figure growls, its teeth long and sharp, almost transparent, its thick exoskeleton a shiny black, its head like a crown. The beast before him stands thirty feet tall, and multiple tusks protrude from the sides of its head. The monstrous creature bellows, and tries to get free, flailing its large barbed tail. Lifting his head, the Engineer pilot whispers to the giant creature "Moh-Nok", in front of the beast he places food for it, then proceeds to take off back up the tunnel. Onwards, he makes it back up to the chapel, he forgets to close the door and without noticing, he passes by the mutated worm which stalks from afar in the streams.

Placing his helmet back on, the pilot takes off down a hall, where all the bodies were piled up on each other. Taking notice of the infection, he is aware that they may have went berserk, due to the effects of the morphon.

Adjusting the suit to radiate the atmosphere as he makes way to the cargo hold, hopefully sterilizing it, the pilot senses something following him but doesn't see anything as he looks back. The infra-red vision provided by his helmet doesn't pick anything up, so he keeps moving. While forgetting to keep track, time begins to slip away, only two hours remain before the ship leaves and he's only halfway way done with his investigation.

He charges down another ribbed hallway to save time, instead of walking. Once at the cargo hold, he enters it, that's where the ship had lied, but it wasn't there, there was just a gaping hole. Usually, he thinks, there would be some kind of transmission noted before take off, but then he remembers, one of the Earthlings, named David, said one of the ships were taken down before departure from the planet. He makes way to the outside compounds of the pyramid, and sees from a long distance away that there are three crashed ships on the surface- the one he is looking for and two others, one being the life boat of the Prometheus, and the other an escape pod.

Another storm is coming soon, and he knows time passes by fast. Once he reaches the giant derelict ship, he searches it for any survivors. None. He finds nothing but a holo-log embeded into the star map. It was headed for Earth. Yes, he knows what his mission was, but should he finish what the last pilot started? He decides to keep investigating and bring back anything useful. And the dangerous morphon; it would be difficult not to bring the morphon because it is now attached to his suit, all of it consumed in a small complex sphere. Clearing his mind, the pilot decides to drop the device and leave it inside the ship, on the planet. He wants no part in this dangerous life or death game, so he places it somewhere hidden for safe keeping.

All seven of the pyramids are now sealed off, his investigation is almost complete. Nothing can get in them now, and nothing can get out. The crashed ship is too damaged to fly to its original destination. After finding nothing but the morphon and knowing that the creature held underneath the first pyramid is still alive, he checks one last place, the lifeboat. He walks over to the banged up space craft, its door wide open and a fluorescence begins buzzing from the flickering lights.

The Engineer is convinced that everything has died on the planet- a great tragedy his kind had faced long ago, feeling sadness, he reasserts himself, but has no sympathy for the humans. He then wonders on though the craft of what he might find inside.

Creeping into some kind of kitchen with a television screen the size of a wall, he stands in the middle and stares before him. He sees something large in another room, motionless. Curiosity draws him near. There were two carcasses, one being a large dark yellow creature resembling a cephalopod that looks as if it had been half eaten, and the other, he assumes, was the pilot that never escaped. His whole torso is torn open.

In sadness, the pilot drops to his knees and leans over the body, placing his thumb on the corpses forhead and closing the eyes with his other hand. He whispers some prayer for the soul of the dead.

Standing back up, anger then flushes through his mind, an emotion he is not used to, a feeling inside him that calls for killing. He backs away and keeps looking around. He senses he is not alone, something inside the ship hunts him. Something big.

Checking the time using a holographic projector inside the suit, he realizes he has only twenty minutes to take off. And he just knows, something dreadful is in that other room, behind him, its heavy breaths faintly audible. He has to investigate the source of those breaths. It is an eerie creature, with what seems to be a long, dark blue tail. It lies still, its shape is somewhat similar to the beast his kind cherish.

Not knowing what it was, he leaves it alone, but fears it would wake soon. Backing up, the Engineer accidentally bumps the wall with his elbow and closes the door, which slams down onto the creatures tail. The thing screeches in pain. Definitely awake now. It turns, looking through the door's glass, which springs back open. The alien creature attacks. Its tail slowly regrowing, it thrashes its arms at the pilot and wrestles him to the floor. He punches it in the face, but that only makes things worse, as the thing detaches its second jaw set, snapping at him, trying to bite into the pilot's skull. Grasping onto the blue demon, the Engineer launches the creature across the room, then gets up.

He escapes and runs to his ship, the nine foot creature following close behind him. The ship is still a quarter of a mile away, but the pilot isn't running out of breath just yet, his strength holding fast. Drawing near the ship he lunges into the air and onto a giant rock, behind him the creature growls with hunger, leaping forth onto the rock as well, it knows it has him. With the ship close by, he could not let the demon come with. As his instincts react, the Pilot charges at the beast, knocking it off the large rock. Screaming on its way down about fifteen feet below, it hits hard, the impact injuring it instantly. Lying in its blood, it suffers an open wound on its head. The poor creature weak and young, cries in agony but the Engineer needed to leave. For reasons unknown, he feels rage, fear, and love for the mutant, even in its condition. Shutting out the emotions, he takes off for the ship. He lunges to the ships airlock, grabs onto a latch which opens a circular door and jumps in, just in time before lift off.

Ripping off the damaged helmet, he makes way to the command port. Despite the darkness, he knows where to go. System set up, the ship is ready for take off, right as the sun is setting. He presses the bulbous buttons to imprint the coordinates to his home world. Then, with a shiver down his spine, he looks up to see one of the worm-like creatures. It opens its tiny sleek wings and attacks him from above off the telescope visor.

There was no escape this time, the monstrosity coiled around his neck, almost suffocating him. It penetrates his mouth, then slithers into his throat. Everything fades to black as he drifts into a coma.

Minutes may have passed before he awakes abruptly. The ship has taken off, the worm creature has died and unraveled itself, and lies fallen on the cold black flooring. The Engineer gasps for air. In his confusion, he accidentally presses the coordinate buttons again. The suit engulfs him and the ship sets on its course, but the pilot is feeling less well by the second. Too weak to get out of the suit, he begins to heat up with a fever as the ship exits the atmosphere. Unable to stay awake he briefly blacks out once more, losing control of the ship. It crashes into an asteroid, which sends it off course towards another nearby planet.

The asteroid, dealing the ship tons of damage, causes it to shake violently, sudden flames erupt from the sides, its quick collision makes way for the planet. As it pierces through the atmosphere, a small hole bursts out from the right wing. Crashing down upon the planet, it strikes the ground, plunging near a dark canyon. It comes to a halt on the peak.

Hours might have passed before the Engineer finally regains full consciousness, but he can feel these may well be his final moments. Stuck inside the suit, there is only one thing left to do. A distress signal beacon, a hope that still can't be lost. Using his weak arms, he begins the transmission, but he's too feeble to finish it. A sudden pain, pressure builds, then the right side of his chest bursts, black blood spewing out as a large black creature pierces through. The new life born; squealing and screeching, leaves its host and lands onto the hard floor. Using what strength he had left, he sends the incomplete transmission. In his final moments of life, all the Engineer sees before he passes, is the ribbed tail and lanky body of the thing as it slithers away.

-:-

_"Death is the destination we all share, no one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life." -Steve Jobs._


	7. Every end, Has a Beginning

A/N: Hello, to all my fans who have read the other ending chapter, I'm here to inform you it has been exchanged for this one to broaden the direction for the sequel. Thank you to all who've enjoyed this and those who have helped me with the constructive criticism. Also, last but not least, most thanks go to the extremely awesome "BLANDCorporatio" for guiding me personally through this journey and helping me better my writing skills. Hope you all enjoy! Please Review!

* * *

Two bowls of fresh gruel slide through a small flap in the cell door. Another day, another meal.

"Oh, how delicious," David says to the Engineer guard observing from outside.

Even after Elizabeth finishes wolfing down her food, the guard still stares at David. And David still isn't done eating. He just can't manage a convincing imitation of starvation. And though the guards said nothing when near the cell door, she can tell they were increasingly suspicious.

The silent guard removes the empty bowls and leaves them. Once more they are alone in the penumbra of the large cell. Black stone, eerily lit by tiny blue sparks creeping through nigh invisible cracks. One enormous bed, hard but warm, which David graciously left for Elizabeth to use alone. Behind a metal grating, one large hole in the floor for ... necessities. And not much privacy.

She adds a notch to the wall. Three times five, and now the sixteenth. She turns to speak but with a gesture of his hand David silences her. Rumbling echoes of distant bass voices vibrate through the corridor outside. Even without the stones distorting them, she would not understand the words. But maybe David can; eyes closed, ear pressed to the wall, body motionless. It's only when the echoes cease and he opens his eyes again that she dares to speak.

"What were they saying?"

"Well, assuming they aren't just putting on a show to trick us ... they are worried about their companion, the scout. He still hasn't reported from LV-223. And they blame us."

"Blame us? We've been locked in here for two weeks now. What could we have done?"

"Not all they say makes sense to me but, they seem to believe we did something before we got here. Something we did not realize."

"They don't think very highly of us, do they."

He smiles. "That may work to our advantage."

He walks to the grating in the floor, and in an instant, he lifts it with one arm.

"How did you-"

"I am very strong," he says.

She raises an eyebrow.

"Well, ok, not that strong," he continues, "but I'm very patient. While you slept- and apparently, the guards too- I've been persuading this grating to come out over the first week of our captivity."

"The first week? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because over the course of the second week, I persuaded another grating to come off."

She stares at him, then at the hole in the floor, then at him again. Is he suggesting they-

He shrugs. "The other cells are empty. They didn't think to lock them. It's a way out, do you want to take it?"

Sixteen notches in the wall.

"So we get out of the cell," she says. "Then what?"

"Then we trace our steps back to the ships. You may remember the way. I certainly do. We take a ship and, I suppose, hope for the best."

Hope for the best. Her fingers find their way to her cross necklace. A silent prayer; she pays no attention to his chuckling. She puts the necklace back inside the suit. Precious. Protected. Away from the muck outside.

"Let's do this," she says.

-:-:-

They run. Stealth is no longer a concern. The Engineers know.

Alarms bleat. Distant footfalls thud against stone, their rhythms coming ever closer. Mechanical clacks emanate from machinery concealed inside the walls. The hangar is closing. She presses herself to run faster.

David practically throws her forward through the narrowing entry to the hangar. She tumbles a few times on the floor, and turns to see David squeeze through. He barely manages to pass before the massive gate crunches against the wall.

"David!" She rises to her feet in an instant and runs towards him. "Are you all right?"

"That ... was rather close," he says, looking down at his bare foot, the boot now flattened by the hangar gate.

She slaps his shoulder. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"Your concern is touching, Elizabeth, but we're not out of here yet."

Escape however seems close at hand. Several rectangular ships to choose from; not Juggernaughts, and much smaller. The distant footfalls of Engineer guards has ceased, but that changes little. She runs towards one of the ships. "David, let's go!"

But he stands still, eyes running over an inscription. When those eyes dart towards her, they are wide and frightened. "Elizabeth- breathe out!"

"Wha-"

The wind is knocked out of her. All air pushes up in a wild frenzy as if an invisible demon grabbed her by her breath. When she falls back to the ground there is no sound her ears can hear. Her chest rises and falls in a frantic rhythm, but to no avail- there is no air for her lungs to pull. She becomes acutely aware of her heart beat. One. Two.

Her mouth fills with sand. Three. No, not sand. Her spit is boiling. She is boiling. Four. Five.

Her eyes hurt, they wish to go free from their sockets. Six. Are those the stars? Where has the ceiling gone? Seven.

Her head jerks sideways as something pushes her. This must be a dream. Eight.

Darkness takes hold of her vision. The stars grow dim and disappear. Nine.

Just a dream. Te-

-:-:-

She gasps. Air, there is air again. In and out of her chest it goes, but it is there, and she is starved for it.

"My, my, you look terrible."

She feels terrible. Her chest hurts. Her face is a rubber mask clumsily glued in place- and with some staples punched in for good measure. Her eyes want to pop and her head seems filled with thumb-tacks.

"Wh-, wh-". Blasted rubber lips.

"Drink this," David says. "It's only water, but it might help."

She coughs and struggles to speak. "What happened?"

"I think they tried to knock us unconscious. Interesting launch system they have there, making a jump gate to orbit. They opened the hangar to the vacuum of space."

Slowly, with one hand on the wall and the other on David's shoulder for balance, she rises to her feet. "How long was I out?"

"Mere minutes."

"Are we followed?"

"No." He slumps his shoulders. "I have a theory as to why that is."

She forces her inflamed eyelids to open just enough so that she can see his face.

"It's not too bad," he continues, "but it appears we got aboard an automatic personnel carrier. I can't change its destination and so ... we're going back to LV-223."

-:-:-

It takes two days for the bruises to heal and for her to bear to look at herself in a mirror. Or look at anything else, though she didn't care much for what she saw. Though not a military vessel, and without a cargo hold of vases, the ship they were on was just as bleak as the Juggernaught. Same monomaniacal obsession with organometallic decorations- if that is what they were. Same sickly green light, same savage darkness. Even without the black goo present, she could never dispel the feeling that at any moment the walls would come alive and digest her. Or worse. Each day she asked if they were followed. Each day the answer came back no.

A light, a beep.

"I think we have arrived," David says, and presses a couple of buttons. "Yes, are now inside one of the pyramids on LV-223. Quite an elegant system of transport, these orbital jump gates."

They exit the ship- he in front, to check the air. Inside the pyramid, it's breathable. Without a helmet to complete her suit, it's outside where the problem is. She has just swapped a prison for another.

Ornate carved corridors give way to natural cave as they walk from underneath the pyramid to somewhere in front of it. And then cave galleries turn once more into artificial passageways covered by the Engineers' designs.

"Have we gone in circles, David?"

"No ... Interesting," he says. "This appears to be the place where the Juggernaut departed for Earth before you stopped it."

A few more steps, and they enter the hall where the huge ship used to be. The thin streams of light from their twin flashlights vanish in distance, overpowered by the shadow. Yet somewhere on the floor, a few meters in front, there's something. A glass bubble, and as she focuses on it, she can read the letters "FORD" on a yellow band affixed to the glass.

"I didn't get a good look at your escape, Elizabeth, but did you by any chance remove that when you-"

She shakes her head. No, she had not. They stare at each other in mutual comprehension.

They are not alone.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for keeping patient with me, It was a very long time since the final chapter had been uploaded. But stayed advised that the sequel is well on its way!**


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